“Both companies complement each other very well, both strategically and culturally,” IVP President Daryl Lindemann said in an Oct. 9 news release. “This acquisition aligns with our long-term strategy of customer, market and geographic diversification within the plastics industry.”

Pro Plas operates a dozen injection presses at a 30,000-square-foot plant in St. Louis, where it employs 34 full-time workers and 20 part-time employees. The firm’s presses range in size from 55-500 tons of clamping force.

Pro Plas also offers sonic welding, heat staking and solvent welding assembly, as well as sub-assembly and packaging. The firm said it has complete tooling, design, and model-making sources for new product development, as well as an in-house tool shop. Its major customers are in the commercial refrigeration, commercial drink dispensing, and medical/pharmaceutical sectors.

Washington, Ill.-based IVP is buying Pro Plas from company founder John Murphy, who will remain with the firm in a consulting role. Pro Plas has annual sales of about $5 million, about half of IVP’s annual sales total, which was almost $10 million in 2011.

In an Oct. 11 phone interview, Lindemann said that both IVP and Pro Plas will continue to make their own products at their own locations.

The deal is IVP’s first acquisition since Lindemann became the firm’s majority owner in mid-2010. He said IVP has no definite plans for more acquisitions, but he added that “if the right opportunity comes along, we’d look at and consider it.”

Sales at IVP are on track to grow 5-10 percent this year, Lindemann said, as the firm’s current customers continue to recover from the recession.

IVP serves major customers in the automotive, agricultural, and heavy equipment industries. Parts molded by IVP include control handles, levers and instrument panels for earthmoving and construction equipment; and nylon reducer bushings for natural gas lines and boilers.

Pro Plas was represented in the deal by Generational Equity, a mergers and acquisitions consulting firm based in Dallas.